Page 3: The World Warrior's adventure
Street Fighter Alpha (Arcade, 1995) Story Taking place after the events of Street Fighter, ''Ryu now struggles to find out why he defeated Sagat and won The World Warrior Tournament. But what he will find out will shake him to his fighting core. Gameplay With graphics that match of that of an anime, ''Street Fighter Alpha features some new and returning characters. It features the return of Birdie and Adon from the original Street Fighter ''as well as the introduction of Rose who uses special powers to reflect or absorb her opponent's projectiles and Charlie who has a similar move set as Guile. It also features Guy and ''Sodom ''from ''Final Fight, and they're more than just guest characters. Though introduced in Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, the game improves on the idea of Super Combos which allow a fighter to hit his/her opponent multiple times with a special background appearing when that fighter KO's an opponent with a Super Combo. Unlike in SSF2T however, the fighters have 2 Super Combos to choose from and can also build up the Super combo meter to control the intensity of a super combo. The stronger the level, the more devastating the Super Combo, and the more hits and damage it'll do. Reception The game has met with somewhat mixed reviews (despite bringing some new and interesting game mechanics) as it had average graphics and sound. Street Fighter Alpha 2 (Arcade, 1996) Story The story continues as Ryu carries on in his journey to discover the power he accidentally used to win the World Warrior Tournament. Will he reach the end of this journey? Gameplay The gameplay of this installment is fundamentally the same. But there are several new features. First one is the "Alpha Counter" where you can parry your opponents move at the cost of one level of your super combo meter. There's also a "variable combo" system where you can come up with your own set of attacks. The game also features some new characters. It features Dan Habiki who's a watered down version of Ryu, Ken and Akuma. It also features Sakura Kasugano: who tries to mimic Ryu. The game also features another Final Fight character named Rolento who uses weapons to fight. It also saw the return of other classical characters such as Zangief and Dhalsim as well as Gen. Reception The game has received better reception than it's predecessor, in fact it received an update on consoles called Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold. It featured Cammy as well as some improved game mechanics. Street Fighter Alpha 3 (Arcade, 1998) Story After discovering about the Satsui no Hadou, Ryu now finds himself a target for a rising terrorist organization known as Shadaloo as their leader: M.Bison is now interested about the Satsui No Hadou and use it to conquer the world. Gameplay The game itself brings a lot of new and returning characters. Apart from E.Honda, Blanka, Balrog, Vega, Fei-Long, Dee Jay, T.Hawk ''and ''Guile. It also beings in some new characters such as Karin Kanzuki a rival of Sakura. Rainbow Mika: A Japanese wrestler and Juli ''& ''Juni: who are clones of Cammy. It also saw the coming of yet another Final Fight character: Cody Travers. The game also improves on the super combo system. You have the ability to choose one of 3 super combo meters. First is X-ISM which is the classical meter, then there is A-ISM ''(or ''Z-ISM in Japan) which is the more familiar meter, and then there is V-ISM which will allow you to perform variable combos. When the game was released on consoles, it also features many game modes including World Tour mode where you face opponents and defeat them under certain conditions, and you can unlock more game modes and other game mechanics. In Arcade Mode, each character has their own set of rivals they must fight before their final battle with Bison, and before a rival fight, there's a conversation between the 2 fighters. Reception The game made a big impact in the arcade room as well as the living room. With it's nearly unlimited character roster and new and unlockable game mechanics, the possibilities are endless in this game. In fact, it received an update called Street fighter Alpha 3 Upper for Gameboy Advance. It featured returning characters such as Eagle ''from the first game. ''Yun from Street Fighter 3 and Maki ''from Final Fight 2. It's other update: ''Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max introduces a unique character named Ingrid who is said to be the orignator of the Psycho Power Bison uses. Trivia * In Ryu's stage in Street Fighter Alpha, you can find a poster of Street Fighter 2: The Animated Movie which came out roughly at the same time as the game. * In Street Fighter Alpha 2, Zangief had an extended sprite sheet which he did somersaults, effectively making him faster and more nimble. But the developers wanted Zangief to be his old, slow and wrestling self, and the spirtes were scrapped, this sprite sheet (oddly enough) can still be found within the game, it is unpolished. * In Street Fighter Alpha 2, Ken's stage consisted a huge party boat and it features several Capcom characters. ** Morrigan Ansland from Darkstalkers. ** Strider Hiryu from Strider. ** Lieutenant Lyn Kurosawa from Capcom's Aliens VS. Predator arcade game. *In Street Fighter Alpha 2, and in Rolento's stage there's a billboard in the background with a scantly clad woman wearing a crown that resembles the Statue of Liberty holding a computer that said Fujitsu on it. Fujitsu is a real-life Japanese electronic company. This was in the arcade and early console versions of the game, but later versions had the Fujitsu symbol removed possibly for legal reasons. **Oddly Enough, early artwork of the billboard had the same woman holding a can of soda and a hot dog. * In Street Fighter Alpha 2 In Guys' stage, if there's at least one female fighter in the fighting stage, Cody would look at her and smile at her, and jessica would get mad at Cody and slap him on the cheek. * In the arcade version of Street Fighter Alpha 3, Karin shares a similar stage as Sakura, in the home console version, she's given her own stage (on a boat off the coast of Japan). This sharing of her stage with Sakura's is what is used for their rivalry which was mentioned in the home console version of the game.